Seeing Double: How Desio Transformed Revenue with One Smart Campaign

How Desio transformed free samples into 76% revenue growth. Complete case study of the Italian contact lens brand's successful gift campaign strategy.
Desiolens
Table of Contents
1,078

Orders generated through AOV Free Gift campaigns

50%

Campaign-driven orders of store's total monthly orders

75.95%

Increase in total store revenue within the 30-day period

Introduction

Desio, a premium colored contact lens brand, represents the perfect fusion of Italian elegance and medical precision. Created by Qualimed, a distinguished Italian manufacturer with extensive experience in the international medical industry, Desio has carved out a unique position in the competitive contact lens market by combining innovation, beauty, and safety in every product.

The brand specializes in colored contact lenses designed to enhance or completely transform natural eye color, offering customers the opportunity to experiment with their appearance while maintaining the highest standards of ocular health and comfort. As an Italian design-focused company operating in the digital marketplace, Desio faced the modern e-commerce challenge of increasing average order value (AOV) while building customer loyalty and encouraging product trial.

To address these objectives, Desio implemented the AOV Free Gift app, specifically leveraging the “Gift with Cart Value” campaign strategy to incentivize larger purchases while introducing customers to their diverse product range through sample offerings.

Challenges

Before implementing the AOV Free Gift strategy, Desio faced several common e-commerce challenges:

  • Customer Acquisition and Retention: The colored contact lens market is highly competitive, with customers often hesitant to commit to full-size products without first experiencing the quality and comfort of the lenses.
  • Average Order Value Optimization: Many customers were making single-item purchases, limiting the store’s revenue potential per transaction and reducing the efficiency of customer acquisition costs.
  • Product Discovery and Trial: With a diverse range of colored contact lens options, customers often struggled to discover products that might suit their preferences, leading to missed cross-selling opportunities.
  • Conversion Rate Enhancement: Converting website visitors into paying customers required a compelling value proposition that would differentiate Desio from competitors.

Solution Implementation

Desio strategically implemented the “Gift with Cart Value” campaign through the AOV Free Gift app with carefully designed parameters:

Campaign Structure:

  • Minimum Cart Threshold: Set at €35 to encourage meaningful purchase amounts while remaining accessible to a broad customer base
  • Gift Selection: Offered up to 4 lens samples from a curated selection of 10 different options
  • Product Coverage: Applied the campaign to all products except for 12 specifically selected items, ensuring broad applicability while maintaining strategic exclusions

Sample Product Strategy:

  • Single-Day Use Design: Each sample lens was designed for one-day use, ensuring optimal hygiene and comfort while allowing customers to experience the product safely
  • Variety and Choice: The 10 available sample options provided customers with meaningful choice and the ability to discover new products

Customer Experience Design:

  • Interactive Selection Process: Customers could choose their preferred gifts through an intuitive popup interface
  • Usage Limitations: Maximum of 4 gifts per customer to balance generous offering with cost management
  • Frequency Controls: Limited to one use per customer to prevent abuse while encouraging initial trial

Technical Implementation:

  • Seamless integration with the existing e-commerce platform
  • User-friendly popup interface for gift selection
  • Automated campaign triggers based on cart value
  • Clear communication of terms and available options

Results

The implementation of Desio’s gift campaign strategy delivered exceptional results across multiple key performance indicators:

Sales Performance:

  • Successfully generated 1,078 orders directly attributable to the campaign within 30 days
  • These campaign orders constituted exactly 50% of all store orders, indicating the strategy became a primary driver of sales
  • The €35 minimum cart value effectively increased average transaction amounts

Revenue Impact:

  • Achieved a remarkable 75.95% increase in total revenue over the one-month period
  • The revenue growth significantly exceeded the order volume increase, suggesting customers were not only meeting the minimum threshold but often exceeding it
  • Demonstrated strong return on investment for the gift campaign expenditure

Customer Engagement:

  • High participation rates in the gift selection process indicated strong customer interest
  • The sample strategy effectively reduced barriers to product trial
  • Created opportunities for future full-size product purchases based on sample experiences

Operational Efficiency:

  • The automated campaign reduced manual promotional management
  • Clear usage limitations prevented abuse while maintaining generous customer benefits
  • The popup interface streamlined the gift selection process

Customer Testimonial

The success of Desio’s implementation was further validated by their positive experience with the AOV Free Gift platform and support team:

“I had a great experience using this plug-in. Everything worked smoothly and exactly as expected. A special shout-out to Audrey, who was incredibly helpful and responsive. She made the whole process simple and stress-free with her clear communication and professional support. Highly recommend both the tool and the support team!”

This testimonial highlights not only the technical reliability of the solution but also the importance of quality customer support in ensuring successful campaign implementation and ongoing optimization.

Key Takeaways

Desio’s successful implementation of the AOV Free Gift campaign offers several valuable insights for e-commerce businesses:

  • Strategic Threshold Setting: The €35 minimum cart value struck an optimal balance between encouraging meaningful purchases and maintaining accessibility, proving that careful threshold analysis is crucial for campaign success.
  • Product Sampling as a Growth Driver: In industries where product trial is important for customer confidence, offering samples as gifts can simultaneously increase immediate revenue and create future sales opportunities.
  • Customer Choice Empowerment: Providing multiple gift options (10 choices for up to 4 samples) enhanced the perceived value of the offer while allowing customers to customize their experience based on personal preferences.
  • Usage Control Importance: Implementing maximum gift limits per customer and single-use restrictions protected campaign profitability while maintaining generous customer benefits.
  • Integration of Brand Values: The campaign successfully reinforced Desio’s commitment to quality and safety by offering properly designed single-use samples, aligning promotional strategy with brand values.
  • Scalable Campaign Design: The broad product applicability (all items except 12 selected products) ensured the campaign could drive growth across the entire product range while maintaining strategic flexibility.
  • Quality Support Matters: The positive implementation experience, supported by responsive customer service, demonstrates that technical solutions combined with excellent support can drive better business outcomes.

The Desio case study demonstrates that well-designed gift campaigns can serve as powerful tools for driving both immediate revenue growth and long-term customer relationship building, particularly in industries where product trial and quality assurance are critical factors in the purchasing decision.

Author Avatar
Daniel Ha

Daniel Ha is the CEO of AOV.ai, with years of experience building Shopify apps that help merchants sell more. He has created AI-powered tools that boost Average Order Value through smart pre-purchase to post-purchase optimization. Daniel's mission is to democratize advanced revenue strategies, making personalized AOV growth accessible to merchants of all sizes.

Brand stats
Industry

Beauty & Apparel

App Used

AOV Free Gift

Location

Italy

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